Calorie restriction (CR) has been promoted to increase longevity. Previous studies have indicated that CR can negatively affect mood and therefore the effect of CR on mood and quality of life (QOL) becomes crucial when considering the feasibility of CR in humans. We conducted a three month clinical trial on CR (reduction of 300 to 500 kcal/day) combined with two days/week of Muslim sunnah fasting (FCR) to determine the effectiveness of FCR on QOL among aging men in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A total of 25 healthy Malay men (age 58.8±5.1 years), with no chronic diseases and a BMI of 23.0 to 29.9 kg/m2 were randomized to FCR (n=12) and control (n=13) groups. Body composition measurements and QOL questionnaires were ascertained at baseline, week 6 and week 12. QOL was measured using the Short-Form 36, sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Beck Depression Inventory II was used to measure mood and the Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure depression. The FCR group had a significant reduction in body weight, BMI, body fat percentage and depression (P<0.05). The energy component of QOL was significantly increased in FCR group (p<0.05). There were no significant changes in sleep quality and stress level between the groups as a result of the intervention. In conclusion, FCR resulted in body weight and fat loss and alleviated depression with some improvement in the QOL in our study and has the potential to be implemented on a wider scale.
We investigated an effect of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on the visual system by measuring the ability of 21 patients to perceive depth in the random dot stereograms and circles of the Randot Test. To control for other factors which might influence performance on the tests of stereopsis, patients were compared with healthy controls matched for age, years of education, IQ, and general cognitive ability. Vernier acuity (thought to reflect mainly central processing) and Landolt acuity (more sensitive to retinal and optical abnormalities) were also measured, but the study did not include a formal ophthalmological examination. All controls could perceive depth in random dot stereograms, whereas 9/21 patients could not. Patients who could perceive depth had worse stereoacuity than did their matched controls. The patient group as a whole had worse Vernier and Landolt acuities than the controls. The stereoblind patient subgroup had similar Vernier acuity to the stereoscopic subgroup, but worse Landolt acuity, and was more likely to have peripheral vascular disease. We conclude that ESRD had affected structures both within the eye, and within the visual brain. However, the similarity of Vernier acuity and difference of Landolt acuity in the stereoblind and stereoscopic patient subgroups suggest that the differences in stereoscopic ability arise from abnormalities in the eyes rather than in the brain.
We determined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs1761667 and rs1527483) in the fatty acid translocase CD36 gene - a receptor for fatty acids - is associated with oral fat perception (OFP) of different fat contents in custards and commercially-available foods, and obesity measures in Malaysian subjects (n=313; 118 males, 293 ethnic Chinese; 20 ethnic Indians). A 170-mm visual analogue scale was used to assess the ratings of perceived fat content, oiliness and creaminess of 0%, 2%, 6% and 10% fat content-by-weight custards and low-fat/regular versions of commercially-available milk, mayonnaise and cream crackers. Overall, the subjects managed to significantly discriminate the fat content, oiliness and creaminess between low-fat/regular versions of milk and mayonnaise. Females rated the perception of fat content and oiliness of both milks higher, but ethnicity, obesity and adiposity status did not seem to play a role in influencing most of OFP. The overall minor allele frequencies for rs1761667 and rs1527483 were 0.30 and 0.26, respectively. Females and individuals with rs1527483 TT genotype significantly perceived greater creaminess of 10% fat-by-weight custard. Also, individuals with rs1527483 TT genotype and T allele significantly perceived greater fat content of cream crackers, independent of fat concentration. rs1761667 SNP did not significantly affect OFP, except for cream crackers. Both gene variants were also not associated with obesity measures. Taken together, this study supports the notion that CD36 - specifically rs1527483, plays a role in OFP, but not in influencing obesity in Malaysian subjects. Besides, gender is an important factor for OFP, where females had higher sensitivity.
The digestive tract of animals, and the patterns how passage markers are excreted from them, have been fruitfully compared to chemical reactor models from engineering science. An important characteristic of idealized reactor models is the smoothness of the curves plotting marker concentrations in outflow (i.e., faeces) over time, which is the result of the assumed complete mixing of the marker with the reactor contents. Published excretion patterns from passage experiments in non-primate mammals appear to indicate a high degree of digesta mixing. In order to assess whether marker excretion graphs from primates differ from ideal outflow graphs, we performed passage experiments in eight individuals of three foregut-fermenting species (Pygathrix nemaeus, Trachypithecus auratus and Semnopithecus vetulus), and added them to available marker excretion curves from the literature. In the resulting collection, 23 out of a total of 25 patterns in foregut fermenters (21 individuals of 10 species from 7 studies), and 13 out of 15 in hindgut fermenters (9 individuals of 2 species from 2 studies), showed an irregular, 'spiky' pattern. We consider this proportion to be too high to be explained by experimental errors, and suggest that this may indicate a taxon-wide characteristic of particularly incomplete digesta mixing, acknowledging that further data from less related primate species are required for corroboration. Our hypothesis is in accordance with previous findings of a comparatively low degree of 'digesta washing' (differential retention of particulate and fluid digesta) in primates. Together with literature findings that suggest a low chewing efficiency in primates compared to other mammals, these observations indicate that in contrast to other herbivores, the success of the primate order is not derived from particularly elaborate adaptations of their ingestive and digestive physiology.
Previously, we demonstrated a non-linear association between meal caloric intake and meal energy density (ED, kcal/g) in data from a controlled trial in the US and from free-living participants in the UK [1]. In both datasets, meal caloric intake increased with ED in lower energy-dense meals (below ∼1.75 kcal/g) and decreased in higher energy-dense meals (above ∼1.75 kcal/g). In the current study, we sought to explore whether this pattern extends to data from free-living participants in Argentina (N = 2738 meals) and Malaysia (N = 4658 meals). Again, a significant breakpoint was found in both the Argentinean (2.04 kcal/g (SE = 0.06)) and Malaysian (2.17 kcal/g (SE = 0.06)) datasets with mean centered meal caloric intake increasing with ED below the breakpoint and decreasing above the breakpoint. These results lend further support for our two-component theoretical model of meal size (g) in which a volume signal is dominant in lower energy-dense meals and a calorie-content signal is dominant in higher energy-dense meals. Together, our research adds to evidence supporting human sensitivity to calories and exposes a complexity in the correspondence between meal energy content and meal size in everyday (non-manipulated) meals. Further research is needed to provide causal evidence for this sensitivity and whether individual variation impacts meal size and energy balance.
Maternal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure has been reported to cause learning and memory deficits in born offspring. However, little is known that this impairment is potentially caused by epigenetic modulation on the development of NMDA receptor subunits. This study investigates the effect of prenatal BPA exposure on the hippocampal miR-19a and miR-539, which are responsible for regulating NMDA receptor subunits as well as learning and memory functions. Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were orally administered with 5 mg/kg/day of BPA from pregnancy day 1 (PD1) until gestation day 21 (GD21), while control mothers received no BPA. The mothers were observed daily until GD21 for either a cesarean section or spontaneous delivery. The male offspring were sacrificed when reaching GD21 (fetus), postnatal days 7, 14, 21 (PND7, 14, 21) and adolescent age 35 (AD35) where their hippocampi were dissected from the brain. The expression of targeted miR-19a, miR-539, GRIN2A, and GRIN2B were determined by qRT-PCR while the level of GluN2A and GluN2B were estimated by western blot. At AD35, the rats were assessed with neurobehavioral tests to evaluate their learning and memory function. The findings showed that prenatal BPA exposure at 5 mg/kg/day significantly reduces the expression of miR-19a, miR-539, GRIN2A, and GRIN2B genes in the male rat hippocampus at all ages. The level of GluN2A and GluN2B proteins is also significantly reduced when reaching adolescent age. Consequently, the rats showed spatial and fear memory impairments when reaching AD35. In conclusion, prenatal BPA exposure disrupts the role of miR-19a and miR-539 in regulating the NMDA receptor subunit in the hippocampus which may be one of the causes of memory and learning impairment in adolescent rats.